"He pushes me, and then he punches me in the face," Scorpio said. "That's when I retaliate."

Deputies said the 53-year-old victim, who was identified by Scorpio as Patrick Juliano, was arguing with his boss about the amount of his paycheck when he was fired.

"It's completely clear that every time I tried to get up off of him," Scorpio said. "He pulled me down swinging. You can see him swinging."

Juliano asked to be paid before he left, and deputies said that is when Scorpio repeatedly punched him in the face with a closed fist.

"The severity of his injuries has nothing to do with it. If you're going to keep hitting me, I'm not going to sit there and let you keep hitting me," Scorpio said.

Investigators said the victim's eyes were swollen shut, his lip was split and he suffered facial fractures.

Scorpio said he was unable to show the video to deputies when the fight happened because he couldn't get the equipment to work. He has since handed the video over to detectives, who said they still plan to charge Scorpio.

All of the evidence will be sent to the state attorney's office. Scorpio said he believes the charges will be dropped.

"At no time is fighting the answer, but if someone is hitting you, do your best to subdue, to get away and call the police," Scorpio said. "Even if you go to jail over it, at least you know you did the right thing."